--- description: A German opposition lawmaker has been criticized for suggesting that authorities could subsidise paid sex for patients title: German Lawmaker: Paid Sex For Patients Could Be Subsidized image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt704324186a729565/6988b4c3cd1bbad3c9703873/german-prostitution.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A German Lawmaker Wants the State to Pay for Prostitutes for the Elderly by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 9, 2017 1:20 PM CUT  Prostitute at Atlantica avenue in copacabana beach at night, Rio de Janeiro Prostitute at Atlantica avenue in copacabana beach at night, Rio de JaneiroGetty Images by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 9, 2017 1:20 PM CUT A [German](http://time.com/4540526/clown-attacks-germany-rostock/ "undefined") opposition lawmaker has been criticized for suggesting on Sunday that authorities could subsidize paid sex for patients requiring nursing care. The Green Party’s spokeswoman on care policy, Elisabeth Scharfenberg, told [_Welt am Sonntag_](https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article160957590/Gruene-f "undefined") newspaper that she could imagine authorities “financing sexual assistance.” Prostitution has been legal in Germany since 2002 and the newspaper also wrote that Scharfenberg’s suggestion has its roots in a system based in the Netherlands, where applicants have to prove a medical need and show that they are otherwise unable to pay for a sex worker themselves. Governing Social Democrats lawmaker Karl Lauterbach told [_Bild_ daily](http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/01/09/world/europe/ap-eu-germany-nursing-care-sex.html "undefined") on Monday that the country did not “need paid prostitution in homes for the elderly, and certainly not on prescription,” _Associated Press_ reports. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4628414/germany-paid-sex-elderly-patients/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4628414/germany-paid-sex-elderly-patients/"},"headline":"A German Lawmaker Wants the State to Pay for Prostitutes for the Elderly","datePublished":"2017-01-09T13:20:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:36:52.900Z","description":"The Green Party lawmaker says she can imagine authorities \"financing sexual assistance\"","url":"https://time.com/4628414/germany-paid-sex-elderly-patients/","keywords":["Germany","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt704324186a729565/6988b4c3cd1bbad3c9703873/german-prostitution.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt704324186a729565/6988b4c3cd1bbad3c9703873/german-prostitution.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prostitute at Atlantica avenue in copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro","caption":"Prostitute at Atlantica avenue in copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4628414/germany-paid-sex-elderly-patients/","name":"A German Lawmaker Wants the State to Pay for Prostitutes for the Elderly"}}]}] ```